Herod the Great and Jesus: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence

Herod the Great and Jesus: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological EvidenceThe traditional date of 4 BCE for Herods death, as set forth by E. Schrer (1896), has been accepted by historians for years without notable controversy. However, according to the texts of Luke and Matthew, Herod died shortly after Jesus birth, which can be fixed in 2 BCE. Consequently, there is apparently a major chronological contradiction, however Josephus gives a dozen synchronisms that enable us to date his death on 26 January 1 BCE just after a

The traditional date of 4 BCE for HerodÕs death, as set forth by E. SchŸrer (1896), has been accepted by historians for years without notable controversy. However, according to the texts of Luke and Matthew, Herod died shortly after JesusÕ birth, which can be fixed in 2 BCE. Consequently, there is apparently a major chronological contradiction, however Josephus gives a dozen synchronisms that enable us to date his death on 26 January 1 BCE just after a total lunar eclipse (9 January 1 BCE) prior to the Passover. Two important events confirm the dating of Herod's death: the Ôcensus of QuiriniusÕ in Syria which was a part of the ÔInventory of the worldÕ ordered by Augustus when he became ÔFather of the CountryÕ in 2 BCE and the Ôwar of VarusÕ after Herod's death conducted under the auspices of Caius Caesar, the imperial legate of the East, and dated during the year of his consulship in 1 CE.